Day 3- Goodbye Staunton, Hello Hills – or – A Night In The Evil Dead House (the friendly version)

After sleeping a little too late, we hung out with Pat, Rev. Bill, and Jess for a bit before rolling out. One last break ride down Johnson St. brought us to Sun Spots to say goodbye to Molly. With a quick stop at Wal-Mart for our daily rations of fruit and prepared subs, we fired up the GPS (now called the Gypsy) and chose a route along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It’s a bit more time consuming, but much more exciting than driving I-81 south again.

We were treated to the majestic sight of rolling Appalachians marching into a dense fog, and rivers of clouds surging across the trees and following us down the highway. It was certainly more pleasant than annoyed truckers and hawk-eyed state troopers.

We arrived at Acoustic Coffeehouse an hour before our set. We were met at the door by a bustling group of four, The Bloodroots Barter, unpacking a veritable theater set of animal skins and liquor bottles mounted on mic stands and such. They had a beautiful merch set up, including strings of tiny red lights and handmade CD cases. They greeted us warmly, and complimented us by saying they had seen our sticker and heard our name at a number of the spots they’d been playing.

Setting up was a breeze as they had hooked in a bunch of mics already. In moments we were rocketing through our set to a very good crowd, including some familiar faces. We had lots of fun, and even got a few dancers. Tips flowed in generously, and it was a good night.

Bloodroots Barter followed with a real spectacle. They slammed through tune after tune of bluegrass, swing, and country with genuine abandon. We like Bloodroots Barter and you should to.

After the set, Casey of Bloodroots Barter offered up their spot to us for the night. After a harrowing 2 hour drive through sleet and snow across twisting mountain roads, we arrived a their place, perched precariously on a hillside, leaning over a roaring creek like a drunken spring-breaker over a flushing toilet. To get to the front door we crossed a bridge resembling Sean Connery’s final walk in The Man Who Would Be King.

Inside we shared some cider and some experiences in the music world. And after stoking the wood stove, we all turned in. Blythe and I crawled into a tiny loft space with a warm, soft bed, where we slept like a pile of warm soft puppies. (Check our Facebook tomorrow for pictures of the house)

Tomorrow… Snow capped hills of Kentucky, Kambucha, a Lexington reunion and Highlands Taproom on the Lord’s day.

PS – Thanks to Jim, Steve, Laura, Vincent, Morgan, Jorja, and everyone who made our night at Acoustic Coffeehouse great.